The Chronicle
11 June 2009
Political Editor

THE dust is beginning to settle following the fierce debate that erupted over the process of drafting the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

It should be borne in mind that Zimbabwe is using the Lancaster House Constitution of 1979, which was basically a negotiated political settlement that did not necessarily reflect the views and aspirations of the masses.

As a result, it is generally agreed that this was more of a transitional mechanism than a blueprint drafted by the people and it is therefore inadequate in meeting the needs of the general populace and generations to come.

The Lancaster House Constitution has consequently been amended a record 19 times.

If it were a pair of trousers, it would by now be threadbare with a lot of patches that would make it ugly and the person wearing it a subject of ridicule.

That is why in 1999, a process to draft a new “people-driven” constitution was initiated and spearheaded by commissioners appointed by President Mugabe in terms of the Commissions of Inquiries Act.

The Constitutional Commission headed by the then Judge President, Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, carried out extensive consultations and produced a draft that was rejected by the people in a referendum held in 2000.

There were various arguments advanced for the rejection of the document. Some people said Zimbabweans used the referendum opportunity to send a wake-up call to the Government on the devastating effects of the neo-liberal economic policies prescribed by the Bretton Woods institutions, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, in the form of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme.

In the words of the Constitutional Commission spokesman then, Professor Jonathan Moyo, the “NO” vote to the draft was a “tummy vote” and not in any way an expression on the contents of the blueprint itself.

Others argued that the document had been rejected because if enacted it would “produce an unworkable system of government with an unchecked executive, a weak Parliament, and inadequate protections for fundamental rights and freedoms”.

Subsequently, the National Constitutional Assembly — led by constitutional expert, Dr Lovemore Madhuku — which had vigorously campaigned for a new constitution and also took part in the lobby for the rejection of the Chidyausiku-led Constitutional Commission draft, produced its own version after a series of consultations in the country.

In September 2007, representatives of the then ruling Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations met at Lake Kariba and drafted a new constitutional proposal. The document, which derives its name from the location it was drafted and is therefore known as the Kariba Draft, was referenced in the Global Political Agreement, signed on 15 September 2008.

The agreement, which paved way for the formation of the inclusive Government, was signed by the three parties represented in Parliament, Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations.

Article Six of the GPA sets out a 19-month constitution-making process.

However, this new process evoked emotional debate when it was announced as civil society felt a Parliament-led process would not produce a people-driven constitution and there were also fears that the inclusive Government merely wanted to impose the Kariba Draft on the people.

Dr Madhuku went further to announce a boycott of the process and vowed to campaign against it especially in view of the alleged attempt to foist the Kariba Draft on the people.

The NCA produced a widely circulated position paper on the shortcomings of the Kariba Draft.

“The process that led to the creation of the Kariba Draft is inappropriate for two broad reasons: First and foremost, Zimbabweans must be given the right to determine the rules by which they would be governed. This view is reflected in the Zimbabwe People’s Charter, which calls for a ‘people- driven, participatory’ process of constitutional reform spearheaded by an inclusive all-stakeholders commission. The writing of the Kariba Draft by a handful of political elites without consulting the public is an undemocratic usurpation of the right of Zimbabweans to write a constitution for themselves,” reads the NCA position paper on the subject.

But the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, Advocate Eric Matinenga, is on record as saying Zimbabweans would be free to express their view on the constitution they want.

“That (rubber stamping of the Kariba Draft) is simply not true. The people of Zimbabwe will determine what will be in their constitution. The Kariba Draft will not be forced down their throat but if they say they want the Kariba Draft so be it and if they say they want the National Constitutional Assembly Draft for instance so be it,” Adv Matinenga told Chronicle in April.

Article Six of the GPA spells out in detail the constitution- making process, including the timeframes for the various phases in the programme.

The preamble of the said article in the GPA emphasises the need for a people-driven constitution although it acknowledges the Kariba Draft.

“Determined to create conditions for our people to write a constitution for themselves; and mindful of the need to ensure that the new Constitution deepens our democratic values and principles and the protection of the equality of all citizens, particularly the enhancement of full citizenship and equality of women,” reads the preamble to Article Six.

The article also goes on to spell out the various structures that will move the constitution-making process.

It says the process will be steered by a Parliamentary Select Committee whose terms of reference will be “to set up sub-committees chaired by a Member of Parliament and composed of MPs and representatives of Civil Society as may be deemed necessary to assist the select committee in performing its mandate” and to “hold such public hearings and such consultations as it may deem necessary in the process of public consultation over the making of a new constitution for Zimbabwe”.

A 25-member Parliamentary select committee is already in place and is co-chaired by representatives from the three political parties represented in Parliament, Paul Munyaradzi Mangwana of Zanu-PF, Douglas Mwonzora of MDC-T and Senator David Coltart of the MDC led by Professor Arthur Mutambara.
The committee is also charged with convening an all- stakeholders conference to consult them on their representation in the sub-committees.

Addressing a seminar on constitution-making organised by the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance in Bulawayo yesterday, Adv Matinenga announced that consultations for the selection of people who will attend the All-stakeholders Conference set for 13 July would start on Wednesday next week.

The Minister said the stakeholder identification meetings on 17 June would be in Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo, Harare and Mutare while on 20 June similar meetings would be held in Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, Mashonaland West, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland Central provinces.
“We anticipate that the sub-committees will equal every anticipated chapter in the constitution. Those issues including the sizes and composition of the sub-committees will be discussed at the All-stakeholders Conference,” said Adv Matinenga.

On the second phase of gathering the views for the drafting of the constitution, the GPA gives four months for that process.

“We envisage a situation where we use the 210 parliamentary constituencies giving them 30 days for meetings and we are also looking at the fact that each constituency has an average of eight wards which means three-and-a-half meetings per ward. If the issues have been properly explained and the people capacitated, I think three meetings per ward is enough,” says Adv Matinenga.

“As a ministry we will also do a pre-consultation process to simply articulate the policy of constitution making and maybe give the public documents such as the NCA Draft Constitution and the present Lancaster House Constitution for their own perusal.”

After the process of gathering the views for the constitution the parliamentary select committee shall table its draft constitution to a second All-stakeholders Conference. It would then report to Parliament on its recommendations over the content of the new Constitution for Zimbabwe and the draft Constitution recommended by the Select Committee shall be submitted to a referendum.

In terms of the timelines set by the GPA, the draft Constitution shall be tabled within three months of completion of the public consultation process to an All- stakeholders Conference and the draft Constitution and the accompanying report shall be tabled before Parliament within one month of the second All-stakeholders Conference.

It also says the draft Constitution and the accompanying report shall be debated in Parliament and the debate concluded within one month and the Constitution emerging from Parliament shall be gazetted before the holding of a referendum.

Although some civil bodies have reservations over this process, unlike the NCA, most have chosen to take part and make their arguments along the way.

Organisations like the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance and the Matabeleland Constitutional Reform Agenda do not see boycotting the constitution-making process as a solution and in fact have started awareness programmes on the programme as well as capturing possible input for the blueprint.

“Clearly, this process is a constitutionally mandated exercise and it is imperative that everyone, be it individuals, political organisations and civil society in general should participate in this process,” says the Zimbabwe Christian Alliance national director, Reverend Useni Sibanda.

Rev Sibanda says the ideal situation would have been to have a hybrid Constitutional Assembly comprising a select committee of Parliament, representatives of civil society and individuals recommended by a committee of Parliament and approved by a majority of parliament.

“That would have created a truly ‘people-driven process’. While ZCA appreciates that MP are the representatives of the people in Parliament, it believes that in a process as important and significant as constitution-making and reform, the actual ‘constituents’ must not be left out, especially at the level of the highest authority, that is the Select Committee,” says Rev Sibanda.

MACRA chairman, Mr Effie Ncube, is on record as saying while the process of making a constitution is important people should not lose sight of the content side of the whole exercise.

At the end of the day as aptly put by Adv Matinenga, “process and content in this case are intertwined”.

For now it would seem the constitution-making train is in motion and those who choose not to step on board like the NCA — which a political commentator attending the ZCA seminar in Bulawayo yesterday on the constitution described as being in a cul-de-sac — will be left for good.

The Herald
Herald Reporter
11 June 2009

GOVERNMENT has maintained that Ordinary Level failures who were already attending Advanced Level classes before their results were released will be ejected.

In an interview on Tuesday, Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Minister David Coltart said the Government had not changed its position and schools should adhere to its earlier directive.

“We have not changed our position. Unfortunately those who have completely failed their ‘O’ level examinations but were already attending (A Level) classes will have to stop,” he said.

“Since when did we start enrolling ‘O’ level failures to ‘A’ level or ‘A’ level failures to university?” Most schools visited by The Herald on Monday, however, said the fate of such pupils would lie with their parents, with some indicating the children could continue A Level classes while supplementing O Level subjects.

Last month Minister Coltart said those who had completely failed would have to stop lessons, which has inconvenienced some pupils who had already paid fees and bought school uniforms.

Minister Coltart said the fate of such pupils would have been the same if results had been released in January.

Minister Coltart last week said the pupils should not be refunded the fees they had paid for the second term, as this would disrupt the normal running of schools.

In April, the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture allowed schools to enroll students for A-Level based on their mid-year mock examinations performance, saying their plight was a matter of concern to the ministry after Zimsec failed to give a time frame for the release of the results. O-Level results were released last Friday and students started collecting them on Monday. However, most school heads were optimistic that only a few students would be affected by the results as they had enrolled them on merit.

June 9th 2009
The Herald
By Innocent Ruwende

MOST schools in Harare and Chitungwiza have decided not to send home Ordinary Level failures they had enrolled for Advanced Level classes before their results were released saying they would want them to supplement the failed O-Level subjects.

This sets the schools on a collision course with the Government, which had ordered that failing students be discharged from A-Level classes.

A snap survey carried out by The Herald yesterday showed that most schools felt parents or guardians of such pupils should determine their future while Government wants them to stop attending classes.

A senior teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in Harare said the O-Level failures would continue with their classes if their parents allowed them to while they supplemented the O-Level subjects.

“The fate of these pupils will not be determined by us, but by themselves and their parents. We cannot stand in their way if they want to continue with their classes, but we will make sure they supplement so that they will have five Ordinary Levels,” she said.

Prince Edward School headmaster Mr Kevin Atkinson yesterday said although he was still to go through all the results, he would engage the parents of the affected pupils.

“I have not finished assessing the results. Some students sat for both Cambridge and Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council examinations, so we will have to compile the statistics to gauge the pass rate.

“We admitted the pupils on merit and we think only a few will be affected. But for the few who will fail we will have to sit down with their parents to map the way forward,” he said.

A senior official at Seke 1 High School echoed similar sentiments and said although they had not finished compiling the statistics of affected pupils, they hoped to engage their parents in the event some failed.

Zengeza High 1 School headmaster Mr Jephias Runesu was optimistic that a few pupils would be affected by below par performance at O-Level.

“We don’t think we will have a problem because we admitted these pupils on merit. We had at least seven teachers on a selection panel who determined the pupils we accepted.

“We will, however, be able to see by the end of the week the number of pupils affected. But I don’t think we will come to a situation where we will send pupils away, we almost foresaw the problem in advance,” he said.

Mr Runesu said if some pupils failed they, would sit down with parents to determine their children’s future, adding that the best way forward would be for them to supplement their O-Level subjects while they attend A-Level classes.

Teachers at Allan Wilson, Queen Elizabeth and Girls High schools said it would be unfair to send children away after their parents paid school fees and bought uniforms.

Last month Education, Sport, Art and Culture Minister David Coltart said O–Level pupils who failed their exams will be ejected from classes and their parents will not be refunded the fees they paid. Meanwhile, students began collecting their results yesterday after going through various clearing processes.

GoToVictoriaFalls.com destination update
By Muzi Mohale
June 9, 2009

High-level support for Marathon

The Victoria Falls Marathon billed for 21 – 24 August 2009 has received the full support of Zimbabwe’s sports minister Senator David Coltart. He has called for the full backing of all government departments, participation of neighbouring countries and has saluted organizers and sponsors whose commitment would make the marathon “an exceptional regional event on the world stage”.

Falls Marathon promises BIG fun…

Victoria Falls Marathon co-ordinator John Addison reports that following enthusiastic interest at Indaba, organizers are working to make the world wonder destination the place to be in Africa over the weekend of the event (21 – 24 August 2009).

So many non-runners/spouses/spectators have shown interest in just coming up for the fun and games that organizers envisage a thrill-filled break. From Friday 21 August when the athletes arrive and register at The Kingdom hotel, Victoria Falls will be abuzz. On Saturday, a social golf day is planned at Elephant Hills, for runners and spectators alike. Sunday is race day and spectators are urged to be up early to watch the start of the race and cheer the runners along the race course. The official marathon cruise on the Zambezi takes place that evening. After this, the after-party at the Boat Club is becoming legendary, dance the night away to some great Rock’n Roll on the banks of the Zambezi, till late. On Monday, head off home, or stay on for more adventure activities.

8 June 2009
The Herald

Harare — MDC-T Cabinet ministers were on Saturday conspicuous by their absence at the Victoria Falls Airport when visiting Heads of State and Government and their delegations from the Comesa region were arriving.

It is understood that a number of MDC-T ministers had been assigned to accompany visiting delegations from the airport to their hotels in the resort town ahead of the official opening of the 13th Comesa Summit yesterday.

However, none of the ministers turned up and a potentially embarrassing situation was only averted after other ministers who went to the airport of their own volition were hastily asked to fill in the gaps.

Apart from Zanu-PF members of Cabinet, the only other senior Government official at the airport was Education Minister David Coltart (MDC), who was attached to ousted Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana.

“Several ministers from all political parties were told that they would be attached to specific delegations and they would accompany these to their hotels after they were welcomed into the country by Vice President (Joice) Mujuru.

“We had a mini-crisis when it was discovered that none of the honourable men and women from MDC-T were in attendance to carry out this important State function.

“In the end we had to ask other ministers who were at the airport to do the duties of their friends who were absent,” said an official with the Protocol Department.

MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa, speaking from Harare last night, said he could not comment on behalf of other ministers and was not present at the summit.

Some MDC-T Cabinet ministers have been in Victoria Falls for the duration of the summit and organ policy meetings that preceded it.

Interestingly, on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe also appeared to be shying away from delegates who flew in for the Comesa summit.

At a reception held for delegates at the Boma restaurant, DPM Khupe was seen sitting away from the delegates.

When asked by Government officials to join the delegates, she reportedly replied that she was in Victoria Falls on “private business”. She only moved after senior State officials implored her to do so.

Meanwhile, a High Court decision last Friday barring the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity, and the Media and Information Commission from accrediting journalists could inadvertently have led to a number of media practitioners failing to cover the Comesa summit.

According to security officials who were in charge of accrediting journalists at the summit venue, they turned away several people because they did not have accreditation from the State.

“The way we function is that we need to see an accreditation card from a State authority before we can let anyone cover an event that involves heads of state.

“So we had to turn away people who came to us without accreditation cards because we cannot give security clearance to people who the State does not know are operating as journalists in the country.

“We just follow our jobs. If there is a change in orders we will follow that. As it is, there appears to be a vacuum but there is nothing that we can do about it.”

To get accreditation to cover the summit, journalists were required to first produce a Zimbabwean Press card.

The Guardian (UK)
8 June 2009
By David Smith in Harare

Things are getting a little better, Tsvangirai tells US and Europe. At home they’re not so sure

Three months ago Davison Makhado took his first job, as a teacher, to play his part in reopening Zimbabwe’s schools. The 35 boys in Makhado’s class at Ellis Robins school in Harare are eager to learn about African history, but only have a single textbook between them, so before each lesson Makhado makes extensive notes that he then painstakingly dictates. “It’s very difficult to teach,” the 25-year-old said. “The children complain about it a lot.” The stuttering revival of the education sector is a litmus test of Zimbabwe’s faltering and fragile progress since President Robert Mugabe and prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s inclusive government was formed in February. Teaching used to be a well-paid profession, when Zimbabwe’s schools were the envy of Africa. Not any more. Like all civil servants, teachers are now earning an “allowance” of US$100 per month. Some are still waiting for their first payment to come through. “$100 is very, very little,” Makhado said. “If I was in my own home, paying $60 rent and electricity and water bills, I couldn’t afford it, so I’m having to stay with my brother.”

Zimbabweans seem willing to give the government of compromise a chance, but patience is running thin. “The unity government at the moment seems to be an 80% failure,” Makhado said. “The things we want to be addressed are not yet addressed. The salaries of civil servants are pathetic and not enough for people with families and extended families. Morgan Tsvangirai still has a lot to do to prove he can deliver something to us.” The price of failure will be the loss of people like Makhado from the country’s schools. “If the salary remains like this I’ll be sorry and I will see to it that I resign and change professions to do something better than this. I’ll give them 18 months at most.” Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, set off yesterday on a tour of the US and Europe, seeking to persuade Barack Obama, Gordon Brown and other heads of state that this tormented nation is now on an upward trajectory. Yesterday, in the Netherlands, he said he was not touring with a “begging bowl”. But from a base of rock bottom, it could hardly be getting worse. Last year Zimbabwe – once the region’s biggest economy after South Africa – stared total collapse in the face: hyperinflation at a world record 500bn per cent, unemployment at more than 97%, shops and supermarkets empty, 5 million people in need of international food aid and nearly 5,000 dead from Africa’s biggest cholera outbreak in 15 years.

A superficial normality has since returned to the streets of the capital, Harare, with traffic flowing, people shopping and children walking to school in smart uniforms. The city hosted a jazz festival at the weekend and is striving to rebrand itself as a tourist destination during next year’s football World Cup in neighbouring South Africa. Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, however, is a place where appearances can be deceptive. “If you’re not confused about Zimbabwe, you haven’t been here long enough,” said Eddie Cross, policy co-ordinator general for the MDC. “On the surface it looks pretty civilised, but look beneath the surface and the human situation is still very grim.” Hospitals have reopened and up to 90% of doctors and nurses are back at work, many receiving top-up wages from British government aid. But half of basic drugs are unavailable. Pregnant women in need of caesarean sections in rural Bulilima must walk 12 miles to the nearest hospital, according to the development agency Cafod. Inflation has been neutralised after the dollar and South African rand were adopted as national currencies, and food is back on the supermarket shelves. But the economy is broke, agriculture is in crisis and many people still cannot afford a loaf.

Incidents of cholera have been curtailed after a huge effort by aid agencies but access to clean water is limited, sewage pipes continue to burst and Oxfam warns of an “eight in 10 chance” of a fresh cholera outbreak later this year. Aids claims 400-500 lives per day. Rumours abound of dissent in the army and police amid signs that Mugabe’s grip on the state apparatus might finally be weakening, but invasions and beatings on white-owned farms have accelerated and there is no respite from the arbitrary arrests of journalists and human rights activists. Schools, of which only 10% were open last year, are back to 100% with 12,000 teachers having returned to their posts. But one textbook is shared on average by 30 children in rural classrooms, which are often in disrepair. Universities are in even worse condition and effectively closed. “Teachers are in school but the truth is they are not teaching,” said one head, who did not wish to be named. “They maintain a presence because they don’t want their allowance to be cut off, but real teaching is not taking place.”

Raymond Majongwe, secretary-general of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, said: “The teachers are there but there is nothing in terms of teaching and learning materials.” But he also struck an upbeat note: “The unity government has brought back food and smiles for many Zimbabweans. In the past six months we have smelled democracy. As a union we have been able to go to places without being arrested where we have never been before. But we can be optimistic only if the correct people ultimately take the reins.” The chief concern for most Zimbabweans is money. Just 6% of the workforce has a job. The introduction of the US dollar and rand have stabilised the economy but excluded many citizens, especially in rural areas. Oxfam believes that the currencies have caused poverty to increase, possibly even double, and forced companies and banks to close. Stephen Maengamhuru, 60, a pastor in the city of Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe, said: “Scratch the surface and people in rural areas simply have no chance to get dollars. I had to give my grandmother one dollar to go to a grinding mill because she couldn’t get any money. Most people are relying on a son or daughter working in town to pitch up with money. The unity government was our hope for survival, but we have a lot of principals dragging their feet and throwing spanners in the works.”

Families cannot even afford to bury their dead. Hospital mortuaries intended to store 20 corpses have become overcrowded with five times that number. Some bodies have reportedly been nibbled by rats. Harare hospital was recently forced to clear its mortuary of corpses unclaimed for up to six months and give them paupers’ burials. Some women have turned to prostitution. Vanessa, 22, standing at a notorious pick-up point in daytime, said: “We want to survive with our children, pay rent and take care of our parents. Some days I earn $40-50. Other days I earn nothing. I have a three-year-old daughter and I need the money for her.” Many people see the unity government as their last best hope. It remains delicately balanced between Mugabe’s Zanu PF and Tsvangirai’s MDC. A trial of strength is under way between Mugabe’s hard power the army and police and Tsvangirai’s soft power, with ministries such as education and health.

David Coltart, the MDC’s education minister, said: “If we can deliver on health and education, then in the minds of millions of parents the MDC will be associated with delivering. The counter to that is that if we fail, we will be seen as no different from Zanu PF. There’s no doubt in my mind that there are elements trying to set us up to fail.” He added: “We’re dealing with a partner that doesn’t know what democracy means and has been dragged into this process kicking and screaming. It could take months or years but the process is almost irreversible.” Optimists hope the Zanu PF hierarchy will accept an amnesty and pay-off from Tsvangirai to step down. Pessimists fear that they will lash out when they see power ebbing away. Cross said: “The people who’ve run this country as a military junta, killing and maiming thousands and pillaging with impunity, are facing defeat and marginalisation. They’re going to fight back.”

Zimbabwe has come back from a near-death experience. The patient is recovering slowly but remains in a critical condition, and the danger of a relapse is real.

The Standard
Saturday 6 June 2009

THE country’s comatose education sector requires at least US$100 million to re-equip schools with textbooks and restore some normalcy in the sector, the Minister of Education, Senator David Coltart said last week.

Coltart who took over the ministry in February recently revealed that there was a shocking shortage of textbooks at schools in a clear sign of the state of the near collapse of the education sector.

“The Education ministry needs over US$90 million to reach the one child to a textbook ratio,” he said.
“With the decline in education, there is a danger that we will lose an entire generation.”

Coltart said his ministry had sent out the begging bowl to Western governments and donors who have set certain benchmarks before they could assist the inclusive government with direct aid.

The restocking of schools with textbooks lies third in Coltart’s priority list, which also includes the re-opening of all schools closed last year after teachers deserted in protest over poor pay and ensuring the results for pupils who sat for school leaving examinations last year are released.

According to Coltart, the United Nations will be sending out an appeal to international donors and Western governments for financial aid to revive the nation’s education sector.

“Part of the aid will go into teachers’ salaries with the other being channelled to the Ministry to revive the country’s education sector,” Coltart said.

The education sector is a victim of the country’s decade-long economic recession.

To add to the woes facing the sector, there is a huge teacher shortage at schools as a number of them are reluctant to take up their jobs over the paltry US$100 monthly allowances.

About 25 000 teachers quit the profession last year over low pay and trekked to neighbouring countries, mainly South Africa.

The Zimbabwe Standard
Saturday, 30 May 2009
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU

BULAWAYO – An average of 30 pupils share one text book in Zimbabwe’s schools as a result of years of gross under-funding which precipitated the collapse of the country’s once envied education sector, Education minister, Senator David Coltart said last week.

Coltart who has appealed to the private sector to partner the inclusive government in its efforts to revive the sector said there was a shocking shortage of study materials with some schools only equipped with one textbook per class in any given subject.

“There is a terrible shortage of textbooks in the country,” he said after receiving a donation of textbooks worth US$5 000 for eight schools in Bulawayo donated by the British embassy.

“At rural schools the ratio of students sharing textbooks is 30 -1 while in urban areas it is mostly 15-1 or 20 – 1. This shortage requires urgent redress,” he said.

The text books, which the embassy said were aimed at helping the Government of National Unity revive the collapsed education sector, were shared between Northlea, Emganwini, Montrose, Hamilton, Cowdray Park, Magwegwe, Emakhandeni and Entumbane secondary schools.

British ambassador to Zimbabwe, Dr Andrew Pocock, said the UK was committed to helping Zimbabwe revive its education sector that has been shattered by years of neglect and under-funding.

“The textbooks are the building blocks for young minds that are the future generation that will rebuild Zimbabwe,” said Pocock in his address.

Most schools in the country are grappling with a severe shortage of textbooks, equipment and teachers who quit over poor salaries.

“We are presiding over schools that lack any form of being a school except standing structures”, said Northlea High School headmaster, Wilson Moyo, who hosted the ceremony.

“The school system and everything that makes up a school in Zimbabwe has just collapsed and continues to be on a nosedive.”

Coltart has set himself on a course to revive the education sector by sourcing money for textbooks and to pay teachers but lack of funding from Western governments who are demanding drastic political and economic reforms before loosening their purse strings has slowed down the initiative.

However, Pocock said there were signs that real change was on the horizon and this would encourage donors to support the unity government.

“We feel change is in the winds, it (change) may not be quick or fast. It might delay but we can see change coming to Zimbabwe,” Pocock said.

“Zimbabwe has many international friends and that friendship has never been lost. . . Zimbabwe’s friends are ready and already beginning to assist.”

Meanwhile, the provincial education director, Dan Moyo, said the city’s 47 schools were still facing a serious shortage of teachers of mathematics, science and technical subjects despite an amnesty for all teachers who had deserted the profession due to low pay.

“Teachers came back but schools do not have teachers to teach those subjects,” Moyo said.

Zimbabwe Times
31 May 2009
By Jakaya Goremusandu

THE debate over remarks by Samuel Sipepa Nkomo suggesting an imaginary theory to slice Zimbabwe into tiny territories is, to put it mildly, based on a puerile and careless intention to divert attention from pressing national issues that urgently require Zimbabwe to rise from its own ashes.

Nowhere in the MDC policy documents, private and public positions or even the party constitution is there a plan now or in future to dismember Zimbabwe into little pieces reflecting the supposed various ethnic demographics of the country. Over the past two centuries, Zimbabweans have developed a common blood among themselves through inter-marriages, other indelible links and complex kinships.
The MDC was born out of a vibrant civic movement, initially calling for comprehensive political and economic reform, none of which anchored itself on a secession agenda, or a separate geographical autonomy arrangement. The party mirrored a strong national sentiment for inclusion – away from the divide-and-rule tactics and the arrogance of Zanu-PF.

The subjunctive mood at the time knew no tribal or ethnic boundaries, hence the election of Gibson Sibanda, Welshman Ncube, Fletcher-Dulini Ncube, Esaph Mdlongwa, Paul Temba Nyathi, David Coltart – all Ndebeles – to the majority of top leadership positions in the party. At no time was the issue of Matabeleland a main building block of this comprehensive initiative, nor was there any need to brand the new party supporters, their views and their motivations, according to their ancestry.

It is common cause that when Mzilikazi and his warriors landed in what is today Zimbabwe, escaping the wrath of their Zulu kinsmen for whatever crimes they had committed in KwaZulu and barely 30 years before whites colonized the country, they did not bring along their women and children with them as they headed north, raiding and plundering.

They raided villages north of the Limpopo, pillaging for food and taking women hostage as sex slaves, domestic workers and wives. These women bore children and enabled the warriors to start new lives and new families. They raised offspring, needless to say, totally without any pure Zulu blood in them.
No Zimbabwean Ndebele person today can honestly claim to be totally free of the blood of the pre-1850 indigenous people they found north of the Limpopo at the time. It therefore does not make sense for anyone to push for an agenda that promotes the separation of Zimbabweans on the basis of some mischievous assumption that their ilk carries a completely separate identity: genetic, biological or otherwise.

In case Nkomo may not know, which is highly unlikely, there is, in fact, no tribe called the Shona. The word was a bastardized version of Mzilikazi’s warrior derision of the indigenous people whom they referred to as the AmaSvina, just as foreigners, especially non-Ndebeles from Zimbabwe in South Africa are unkindly called AmaKwerekwere today.

Acting on the advice of the Ndebeles, white hunters, missionaries and fortune-seekers, including Frederick Courtenay Selous – called the indigenous people Mashuna, that is, the people of Mashunaland. The word was widely then used to define the various clans whose language was made up of related dialects: the Korekore, the Zezuru, the Karanga, the Kalanga, the Ndau and the Manyika.
The key dialects of Shona are Kalanga, Karanga, Korekore, Manyika, Ndau and Zezuru. The Kalanga were cut off from the main concentration of the Shona people by the invading Ndebele. Their speech shows considerable influence from the Ndebele language, which now distinguishes Kalanga from the rest of Shona dialects. Kalanga is, for instance, the only Shona dialect to have the “l” sound; the rest of the Shona dialects have “r” only.

The word “man” is “murume” in Zezuru, Manyika and Karanga. In Kalanga it is “n’lume”, while in Ndebele they call a man “indoda”.

In November 2003 Gerald Chikozho Mazarire prepared a paper, “Who are the Ndebele and the Kalanga in Zimbabwe?” for the Konrad Adenuer Foundation’s Project on ‘Ethnicity in Zimbabwe’. He states in the paper that there is very little known about the Kalanga before the year 1800.

He says: “In conclusion the Ndebele and Kalanga are different people with entirely different origins, language and culture as has been demonstrated above. Their experiences however have of late come to be shared more often than not this has given rise to a common imagined identity of belonging among other things to Matabeleland. This imagined identity is however unique in its ability to appreciate and acknowledge differences between the two cultures.”

Zimbabweans with a good memory will recall that when Gibson Sibanda told a rally in Binga late 2005 that his breakaway MDC group had moved away from the mainstream MDC to fight for a separate state of Matabeleland, such utterances cost him and the faction, dearly. A few days later, Sibanda was confronted by, among others, Joseph Msika at Bulawayo airport and was advised to retract the statement and that he was misguided to talk about a separate Matabeleland.

Ordinary party supporters were left speechless by Sibanda’s views in Binga, for that matter, and this weakened the group’s support substantially in Matabeleland North and Bulawayo – as shown by the results of the 2008 council, parliamentary, senatorial and presidential elections in which Sibanda and almost the entire leadership of the Arthur Mutambara led MDC lost dismally. That they now stand in the forefront of Zimbabwe’s politics of national unity is testimony to the wicked machinations of former South African president, Thabo Mbeki.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Daily Mirror of November 8, 2005, quoted Sibanda – while campaigning for the controversial 2005 Senate election – as saying: “Ndebeles can only exercise sovereignty through creating their state like Lesotho, which is an independent state in South Africa and it is not politically wrong to have the state of Matabeleland in Zimbabwe.”

Although the Daily Mirror was a daily newspaper, it took the group’s official spokesman, Paul Themba-Nyathi, speaking perhaps on Sibanda’s behalf, 10 days to undertake some damage control, through the Zimbabwe Independent by merely saying: “… not only is the allegation untrue, it also appears to be a deliberate attempt by the newspaper to fan ethnic tensions in the MDC and the country as a whole”.
Back to Sipepa Nkomo.

It is true that Nkomo may be totally unaware of the founding documents and the main spirit behind the MDC as he is a recent arrival at the organization, notwithstanding his meteoric rise, even after with Welshman Ncube in October 2005 and returning to rejoin Tsvangirai early in 2006.

Tsvangirai must, therefore, be excused if he found himself completely surprised by Nkomo’s utterances in Lobengula this week. It appears they were meant to camouflage some unclear agenda to steer himself away from dealing with pressing water problems of Bulawayo, an assignment Nkomo must undertake as a matter of urgency under his Johnny-come-lately political leadership.

Nkomo has known problems of political credibility, given the corrupt activities for which he was forced to resign from the Mining Industry Pension Fund where he was chief executive in 2000. He miraculously escaped proper prosecution and possible conviction, given the abundance of published evidence that could easily have nailed him. He was still in court over the same case as recently as 2007. Nkomo’s credibility issues also arise from his dismal performance at Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, publishers of The Daily News, a newspaper which he arguably assisted then Information Minister, Prof Jonathan Moyo to destroy within months of Nkomo’s taking over as chief executive officer of the company.

Nkomo became minister by default at the last in February Minister after MDC president Tsvangirai was arm-twisted into dropping Eddie Cross from his line-up of cabinet ministers through a campaign about representation of Ndebeles orchestrated in online publications, especially The Zimbabwe Times.

In Lobengula this week Nkomo decided to speak about a matter that does not concern his constituents in order to occupy them with a mundane agenda at a time when 90 percent of those people are without work; they have no food; inadequate medical care; no school fees; and no access to their democratic rights because of Mugabe’s dictatorship – which they rightly think are priorities at the moment.

A separate state, federalism, devolution or outright secession is a warped theory which has been spontaneously rejected time and again by the people of Matabeleland and elsewhere in Zimbabwe. Older Zimbabweans will remember a party led by Chief Kayisa Ndiweni before and after independence in 1980 which put up a spirited campaign for a federal state. The party failed to obtain even a single seat in Parliament.

Bulawayo resident Paul Siwela has spent much of his adult life campaigning for a federal state in which Matabeleland could achieve what is in his mind a form of self-governing status. Siwela and his team have never won an election either, whether on the city council or for the national legislature. The people in this area dismiss him outright, with some even suggesting that he could be mentally unhinged, allegedly.

The argument for Ndebele separateness or quasi-autonomy is not only common currency among a few die-hard black tribalists in Matabeleland. White Rhodesians always had a fondness for the “manly” and “loyal” Ndebeles, who – according to eminent Zimbabwean historian Terence O Ranger – they contrast with the “treacherous” Shona.

After the 1980 election, writes Ranger in his book Voices from the Rocks, p. 253/4, some Bulawayo-based ex-Rhodesians found it intolerable that Matabeleland whites, together with the Ndebeles were to be under the rule of the “Shona” and Harare. A pertinent example is that of Bulawayo dentist Dr Frank Bertrand who in 1981 was prosecuted and convicted for pandering to some strange fantasies designed to hive-off Matabeleland from Zimbabwe by force.

Bertrand found himself embroiled in a fantastic conspiracy, which never excited the Ndebele people, when he went to Entumbane Hills to appeal to the spiritual powers of the late Princess Violet Khumalo whose powers Bertrand thought could be used to induce former Zipra fighters to a rebellion.

Violet was a direct descendant of Lobengula, being a grand-daughter of Famona, the daughter of Lobengula.

Many Zimbabwe have probably forgotten about Bertrand, but for the record, he told the court: “We had tried all the orthodox techniques. We had failed. So I tried to obtain the help of Princess Violet to obtain the state of Matabeleland.”

For his trouble Bertrand ended up in jail. Ndebeles, presumably including Sipepa Nkomo, hardly recognized or noticed his efforts.

New Zimbabwe.com, the website that exclusively carried the Nkomo proposal, quoted the water Resources Minister as saying the proposal had the backing of Tsvangirai and his mainstream MDC party.
The Lobengula MP told a constituency meeting on Monday that the MDC would be championing the proposals when the country draws up a new constitution. No other MDC official has so far independently confirmed Nkomo’s allegation.

It is arguable that Tsvangirai would be the last person to argue for separate development, given that his grandmother “MaTshuma” was an Ndebele in Buhera. Many may be unaware that two wards, together with their chiefs, in Buhera North have been a natural home for Ndebele people since the late 1940s. The story is that they were moved from Lalapanzi, north-west of Mvuma to make way for a white commercial farm. When the trucks that were taking them further south ran out of fuel near what is called Gwebo Business Centre today, they were dumped there and told to negotiate for asylum among the local villagers.

That is how they came to be permanently settled there.

Equally arguable is the fact that Tsvangirai has proved himself that he is not a tribalist. Five, out of seven, senior members of the inaugural leadership of the MDC in February 2000 had Ndebele ancestry. They were the vice president, secretary general, treasurer-general, organizing secretary and information and publicity chief. No tribal balance-sheet was used here to determine the type of leadership for the party. They were all Zimbabweans with a mandate to direct the affairs of an alternative political party, regardless of their places of family origin.

It is the same leadership, acting under secretary general Welshman Ncube, that deserted Tsvangirai in October 2005 to form a breakaway MDC party, which they later invited Arthur Mutambara to return to Zimbabwe and lead, with quite predictably disastrous consequences.

Unless the situation has changed so radically, there is no way Tsvangirai can agree with Sipepa Nkomo that the country be parceled out to various groupings. Even Tsvangirai himself, a descendant of the Ndau-Msikavanhu-Save clan, with roots along the Save River in the far south-east of Zimbabwe, could easily find himself without a territorial claim if the Nkomo plan were to become reality.

Zimbabweans have long moved away from ethnic out-bidding, score-settling and traditional tribal identities, common two centuries ago. The people cannot be seduced by the Nkomo idea – even if it may still appeal to some, today. The idea is totally unnecessary and an unmanageable proposition.
Above all, it is not the policy of the MDC, contrary to Nkomo’s claim.

“Here, we cry that we are marginalised,” Nkomo told his constituents on Monday. “The time is now to talk about regional governments.”

But, truly speaking, Nkomo did not do too badly in Harare. He landed the top job of chief executive officer of the wealthy Mining Industry Pension Fund. After he screwed that one up he miraculously landed the even more powerful post of executive chairman of ANZ. He screwed that one up as well. Meanwhile he had built a business empire of his own right in the centre of Harare. Now that he is back in Bulawayo, after he abandoned his family in the capital city, he complaints about being marginalised there.

Jonathan Moyo, hailing from the same Tsholotsho District as Nkomo, did not perform too badly in Harare either. In quick succession he spearheaded government’s constitutional amendment campaign in 1999, then took charge of Zanu-PF’s election campaign before landing the most influential job of Minister of Information.

He virtually became Mugabe Number Two. He was in charge of Zimbabwe Newspapers, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Ziana and the Community Newspapers Group. He appointed the nation’s editors and influenced the content of the main newspapers; that was apart from writing a regular and vitriolic column of his own under the pen-name Nathaniel Manheru.

Far from being marginalised in Mashonaland, Sipepa Nkomo and Moyo, in fact, marginalised many in both Mashonaland and Matabeleland. The fact that the majority of Zimbabweans have poor memories does not mean that their victims have all also forgotten.

Zimbabwe Times
May 30, 2009
By Our Correspondent

BULAWAYO – The British Ambassador Andrew Pocock has said signs of positive change are now showing in Zimbabwe, prompting Western countries to consider assistance for the country.

Western countries have insisted on substantive democratic reforms as a benchmark before they can directly support the coalition government formed between Zanu-PF and the MDC parties in February.
Pocock indicated that Western governments were now ready to assist the country with direct aid because of the thawing relations between Zimbabwe and its former colonial power and other countries.
“We feel change is in the wind,” Pocock said Thursday afternoon. “It may not be quick or fast. It might delay but we can see change coming to Zimbabwe.”

He was addressing students at Northlea High School in Bulawayo with Senator David Coltart, Education Minister, where the British Embassy was presenting a donation of textbooks worth US$5 000 to eight secondary schools in the city.

The text books, which the Ambassador said were aimed at helping the government revive the crumbled education sector, were shared between Northlea, Emganwini, Montrose, Hamilton, Cowdray Park, Magwegwe, Emakhandeni and Entumbane secondary schools.

“Zimbabwe has many international friends and that friendship has never been lost even when it was frosty for years,” he said. “Zimbabwe’s friends are ready and already beginning to assist this country with resources as they see change coming.”

Relations between Zimbabwe and the West hit a low over human rights violations and poor governance by President Robert Mugabe’s administration.

Mugabe, who formed a coalition government with the opposition in February, has denied committing human rights violations and accused the West of pursuing an agenda to oust him.

Western governments have demanded political and economic reforms before direct aid can start flowing in to assist the coalition government rebuild the country’s economy.

About US$8 billion is needed by the coalition government to revive the economy. So far it has secured nearly US$1 billion.